Monthly Archives: August 2016

4 Ways To Get Traffic To Your Website

Getting visitors to your website has been the ultimate dream of internet marketers. More traffic equals more money, so they say. But how can you do it without spending a fortune?

Unknown to many there are a few ways of getting visitors to your site without risking a lot of money. But remember, it’s not that easy. It takes more work. So, if you would rather work instead of pay to get visitors to your site, then here are a few things you can do:

1. Submit articles to article directories. This is probably one of the most effective ways of getting traffic to your site. By submitting articles with a link that points to your website, you are assured of long term traffic. As long as your article stays in the directories that you submit to, people can find it and the chances of getting traffic to your website is increased. A few of the article sites where you can submit to are goarticles.com, ezinearticles.com, ideamarketers.com, articlecity.com and articlesfactory.com.

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It’s not really rocket science. SEO is simply a technique that you implement on your site to rank higher in the search engines. Here are the things you might want to implement right away:

a) Your domain name should have your keyword in it.
b) Title tag of each page of you site should contain your keyword.
c) Your keyword should be on the first paragraph of your page.
d) The image alt tags should contain your keyword.
e) The file names of each page of your site should also have your keyword.

3. Create a blog then link it to your site. Postings at Blogger are easily indexed by Google. Updating your blog is feeding the search engines. Each time you put fresh content out, the search engines will notice it and come running to eat it all up. Putting your keywords in this fresh content will help you rank higher in the search engines. Your site gets updated a lot if you link your blog to it. Blogging is easy and it adds a lot of pages to your site. You can get free blogs at blogger.com and wordpress.com.

4. Posting in forums related to your topic. By participating in forums you’ll have the opportunity to place your link in the signature line and get traffic from forum members. You can find a forum related to your topic by going to a search engine and typing your keyword + forum. Make sure the signatures you post in forums are catchy to attract readers and make them click on your link and come to your site.

These are simple, cheap and very effective ways of getting visitors to your website. Implementing the above would guarantee a stream of traffic not only for the short term but also for the long haul.

9 Steps to Unique Articles

1 Remove your limits

Reduce your subject to a single core word and then brainstorm around it. For example, if you’re trying to write about “Study Skills”, expand your thinking to “School”. Now jot down everything that comes to mind when you think about School, and when you run out of ideas start asking yourself open questions around the subject and noting your answers.

Examples:

What did I enjoy about school?
What scared me?
What did I wish I’d known from Day 1?

This will help you get back into the mindset of someone struggling with school issues of all kinds and you’ll start to get a feel for their concerns and worries.

2 Restore your focus

Once you’ve started to understand the general feelings of your readers, allow your mind to focus back on your original topic of Study Skills. From your new perspective, what questions would you ask? What would you want to know? Is this really a “Studying” issue or is it more about Time Management or being able to work without distractions or being paralyzed by the fear of not doing well?

3 Be your audience

Write each question on a separate sheet of paper; don’t stop until you have at least ten and preferably more. Stay in the mindset of your readers until you feel you’ve asked every major question that concerns them.

4 Take a step back

Put your pile of question aside for a few hours, overnight if possible. Don’t consciously think about them; just go about your day as usual. Give your subconscious time to process them without any further prompting from you. If new questions come to mind jot them down somewhere safe and then forget about them.

5 Get out your pen and write

When you’re ready, sit down with your pages of questions and simply start to answer them. Writing your answers by hand can give you access to ideas that might be missed if you type them. Don’t edit yourself at this stage. Using Speech to Text software or a digital recorder can also be helpful in bypassing the internal editor.

Imagine someone sitting in front of you asking for advice and just talk to them. Keep your tone natural and conversational and stay with the question-and-answer format.

6 Edit lightly

Trust your first instincts. Proof-read and correct any obvious errors, but don’t do any major editing until your piece has had time to “sit” for a while. Again, leaving it overnight will give you a fresh perspective the next time you look at it, but even if your deadline doesn’t allow for that it’s important to give yourself a break from it.

When you’re pushed for time, writing several articles at one sitting can create enough change of focus to make you “forget” the one you’ve just written.

7 Polish it up

Short articles are unlikely to need major editing if you’ve written them as described here. They will flow easily and naturally already and having each Q & A on a separate sheet makes it easier to select only the ones you want. Your job now is to put them in a reasonably logical sequence and make sure they’re understandable and that the reader is led smoothly from one question and answer to the next.

8 Top and tail it

Write a brief introductory paragraph as a “teaser” for the main article. Many article directories now put the first paragraph of each piece into RSS feeds which are picked up by other websites, so you’ll want to make sure that your two or three major keywords appear at least once in that first paragraph.

Write another short paragraph to summarize the major points of the article and provide some ideas for the reader to explore the subject further. Don’t of course forget your own resource box: use the format <a href=”http://www.SubmitYourNewArticle.com”>SubmitYourNewArticle.com</a> for your link, so when your article is converted to html your link will automatically be live.

9 Submit it!

Submitting your quality written, and keyword rich articles is certainly your first step to achieving your personal or business related goals. However, many authors wonder why their articles are not being picked up by publishers and webmasters to be placed on their theme related websites, and if you’re willing to follow a few simple steps, you will be on your way to having a successful article writing campaign that will appeal to publishers, webmasters, and also your online readers.

The truth of the matter is, that many publishers and webmasters are looking for fresh, well-crafted content to place on their site that offers their readers valuable information and tips, but they don’t like to accept articles for their sites that show obvious signs of self-promotion of your own business, products, or services. Selling your business in your article is just going to drive people away, and they will move on to the next article that will help them answer the questions they’re seeking.

Tip #1: When readers search for a specific topic of interest, they’re searching for information that answers specific questions they may have at the time. If you’re not exactly sure how to format your article to flow with all the necessary information, just remember that when you start writing your articles, consider formatting your articles with the focus on the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and WHY. When you start to develop your articles in this format, you will definitely make it easier to write your articles on specific topics that will flow naturally.

Tip #2: If you’re writing about a specific topic that can help your readers, provide a brief introduction of what you’re about to talk about. This way if the reader is interested in what you have to say, they will know what direction you’re going in on your specific topic. In the body of your articles, have the key information that your topic is talking about with many features followed by the benefits.

The best way to achieve this is to talk first about the feature of your topic, product, or services briefly, and then follow right below your feature, a detailed benefit (make sure you focus and write more on the benefit). At the bottom of you article, always end it with a brief conclusion. Never stop writing without having an ending. Readers will be wondering if they received the entire article, or if you’re missing some information. Remember, most if not everyone likes an ending.

Tip #3: In the body of your article, make emphasis on your features and benefits that you’re talking about by adding “bullets” and also “highlighting” the important features and benefits. This does several things to your article, it allows your readers to quickly find the important information in your article, and if they happen to not want to read the entire article from top to bottom, they may opt to go directly to the information that they want, and you make it much easier for them to find it with bulleting, and highlights!

Tip #4: If possible, when writing about a unique topic, you will add more impact and credibility to your content when you offer your readers important resources to back up your claim. You can provide a few legitimate testimonials, a list of awards that were achieved, or anything else you feel will back up what you’re talking about. This is a great way to provide your readers solid proof you’re the authority on this topic, and you have value for them to obtain from your information.

Tip #5: The biggest mistake many new authors make when writing their articles for ezine directories to be picked up for distribution is creating a really weak “Author Bio”! You spend all your time and effort creating the perfect article to be submitted to the ezine directories, and many ezine publishers and webmasters start picking up your article and adding them to their emails and sites. However, if your author bio at the end of your article doesn’t have impact, it will not motivate the reader to click through to either read more, or get additional information on what you are truly offering.

Make sure you spend as much time in creating the best author bio as you do when you start writing your article. Make sure that you let your readers know who you are, and that you are the expert on this topic, and if you’re talking about several products or services, in your author bio, if you’re allowed a maximum of 3 hyperlinks to your site, blog, or email, also make sure that you take advantage of this option, and add your maximum allowable links for your readers to click through and continue their journey to specific information they’re interested in reading.

These tips are only a guideline to your article writing success, and if you take some of the information I provide and use it that best fits your writing style, I feel that you will be on your way to being a great Web Author, and many of your well written articles will be picked up by publishers and webmasters hungry for freshly written content that offers a quality message to their readers.

10 Tips for Marketing Your Business with Facebook Pages

In the process of looking for ways to increase sales, you have probably realized the root question in any marketing campaign is “How do I get information about my business in front of people?” Before you even decide on the content of your marketing message, you have to know that people will see it. That means knowing where people will be.

Facebook is where people are, with over 1.3 billion active users. And on any given day, 48% of them log on. You can target your desired demographic in that enormous audience by creating a Facebook Page, so let’s look at some ways to use a Facebook Page to market your business.

Create a page. That is your starting point, so don’t put it off. It is quick, easy and free. You can have a Facebook page for your business up and running in less than an hour, and you can refine it as frequently as you wish.

Add a cover and a profile picture. Some graphic representation of your business (a photo or your logo, for instance) will create brand awareness for that image. People that have visited your Facebook Page will have a connection with all of the information they have received there whenever they see that it.

Add a “Call to Action.” On the Cover area of your page, set up a call to action. Use it. Also use Call to Action buttons or links in your posts and in ads you create. Responses to a Call to Action build your fan base and create alternative ways to market to those fans.

Add a description of your business. This is the first place visitors will see information about the nature of your business. You have two places for descriptions – a short one (155 characters) and a long one. Use both.

Add contact information to encourage prospects to find you. Add your address, telephone number and website URL to your page. Some businesses will use a Facebook Page in lieu of a website. If you have a website, though, a leading function of the Facebook Page will be to drive traffic to it.

Through your Page, connect with Facebook Groups that have the interests that you expect your customers will have. There is no better way to increase your business’ exposure quickly.

Start posting and do it often. You increase the chances of any given Facebook fan seeing your post when you post at least two or three times per day.

Do not post only ads on your page. Your main reason for creating the page is to increase your business, but an advantage of Facebook over most marketing tools is the ability to build a relationship with prospects. Give them reasons to like you. Give them entertaining and informative posts, as well as ads.

Allow others to post to your Page. This provides an opportunity for two-way communication with prospects – another step in building a relationship rather than merely dispensing ads. There are options available to provide monitoring so you can protect your page from inappropriate language, for example.

Start with your Facebook Page to grow brand awareness and respect from visitors to your Page. This one tool can start an exponential growth spurt.

10 Tips for Marketing Your Business with Facebook Groups

The key to marketing success is getting an effective promotional message about your company in front of large numbers of potential customers. Facebook Groups is an excellent tool for making large numbers of people aware of your business, your products or services, and your message. For dramatic increases in the visibility of your company, you might:

Search Groups for interests that you would expect your customers to have. For example, if you sell camping gear, search for groups using keywords like camping, hunting, or outdoors. You will find many groups that are relevant to your business. Don’t hesitate to join them all.

Post to those groups, and do it often. Posting more than once a day is helpful. More posts increase the likelihood that any individual member of the group will see your post. Since you may be joining dozens of groups, unique posts for each group would be impractical. Create posts that can be used across the whole range of groups you have joined.

Use images in your posts. Images get far more interest and response than simple text posts.

Include links to your website or a call to action (“Click for more information” for example) with images. Your first goal is to build exposure, and a large fan base is evidence of that growing exposure. You want the group’s members to go to your Facebook page, where they will find more information about you, your company and your products.

Create some item that can be emailed at regular intervals. Whether in posts to the group or on your Facebook page, you should have a call to action – Sign Up For My Newsletter, for example. When visitors sign up for that newsletter you grow your email list, which can become an entirely separate marketing tool.

Do not post only ads to the groups. Also create posts that actually provide value, whether entertainment or information, to the reader. You want to build a relationship with the reader that makes them more inclined to trust your business.

Whether posting ads or informative or entertaining posts, address problems that your product or service will solve for them. It doesn’t have to be a blatant cry for their business. Just making people think about the problem and creating an awareness that you can help contributes to the relationship.

Use giveaways to encourage visits to your Facebook page. Giveaways don’t have to be costly. An informative report that addresses visitors’ interests or can cost you nothing to put together and increase your Facebook fan’s interest in your business.

In all of your efforts, keep in mind that your success is dependent upon building a relationship with the individuals in the group and with the visitors to your Facebook page. Whether they are a few dozen or a few thousand, gear your campaigns to individuals, not groups.

Be Honest. Sure, that’s your intention, but don’t let promotional puffery slip over into false statements. Assume that the reader will at some point become aware that a claim or a promise was false. When they reach that awareness, all of your effort toward building a relationship is at risk. It is much better to promise less and deliver on every promise.

For an explosive growth in your Facebook Page’s fan base, and a corresponding growth in sales, there is no more effective single tool than Facebook Groups. Make them a consistent element of your marketing plan.

10 Tips for Marketing Your Business with Facebook Advertising

Your company needs more customers, so you are examining marketing options. Advertising on Facebook is one option that you do not want to overlook. Facebook advertising is extraordinary in offering the ability to select a particular target audience, monitor the effectiveness of your ads, and modify the ads to adjust to responses. To get maximum results from Facebook Advertising, it just takes a few key steps.

Begin With a Clear Goal. Two of the most common goals would be to generate sales directly from the ad or to increase awareness of your business while building a contact list for future marketing efforts. Everything about your ad should be constructed with your primary goal in mind.

Choose the Geographic Area. Does your business only serve your local area? Do you sell products that can easily be shipped anywhere in the world? For either of these cases or anything in between, you can tailor the regions where your ads will appear to match your needs.

Customize Your Ad for The Demographic You Wish to Reach. Because of the information Facebook collects about its users, you can define the advertisement’s target market based on age, gender, location, interests, or several other criteria. Combining those criteria allows you to be specific when you construct your ad for that target.

Direct Your Ad to Existing Contacts. Upload a customer or contact email list. Any of the people on that list that are also Facebook members will receive your ad.

Set Your Budget. You can choose to run ads continuously or for a particular period, and you can select how much you are willing to pay. Budgets are set as a maximum daily expenditure or total expenditure over the duration of the campaign.

Use Facebook Ad Manager. Ad Manager accumulates metrics on responses to your ads and presents them in comparison to goals established when the campaign was initiated. Using the information available, you can alter the campaign, changing the budget or target market or even completely re-creating the ad. A big plus – Facebook Ad Manager is available as a smartphone app.

Use Conversion Tracking. With Conversion Tracking, you place JavaScript code on your website that tracks visitors’ actions. That JavaScript sends info to Facebook, where it is compared with their record of prospects that looked at or clicked on your ad. Among other things, you can determine how many people viewed your website or made a purchase after seeing your Facebook ad.

Boost your posts. Boosting a post is a different type of advertising. Boosting a post causes it to appear higher in the News Feed of the ad recipients, thus raising the likelihood that it will be seen. You can have any post boosted, increasing its exposure.

Always include a Call to Action. Salespeople know the axiom “Always ask for the sale.” Professional salespeople do not present information to prospects and hope they will choose to buy. They offer the information and ask the prospect to act – to make the purchase. You need to do that in every ad you create. Depending upon your desired response, include buttons or links asking the reader to respond. “Click Here to Buy,” “Like This Page,” or “Click Here to Receive My Newsletter” for example.

Follow these tips in creating Facebook ads and expect a transformation of public response to your advertising.

10 Tips for Marketing Your Business through Your Facebook Profile

The best way to market your business on Facebook is through a Facebook Page dedicated to that business. However, your personal Facebook Profile presents some marketing opportunities of its own. First and foremost, using your personal profile starts with personal relationships in building business relationships.

Let your friends know about your business. Make posts that specifically focus on the business. You can put a lot of information in one post, but it would be more effective to go through a number of posts, spread out over time, with each having a tidbit of information. The multiple posts increase the chances that any particular friend will see the post.

When friends share your posts about your business and their friends Like or Comment on them, consider sending Friend Requests to those new contacts. If they accept your Friend Request, you have new friends that will be seeing your posts regularly.

Use your ability to select whether each post can be seen by only Friends or by the Public to expand your ability to use your personal profile to interact with the Public.

You should also Allow Follows. When you Allow Follows to your personal profile, you don’t have to accept individuals as Friends to for them to see all of your public updates. You also won’t have your news feed cluttered with the updates of all of your followers.

Even personal posts can connect to your business. Your business is a major part of your life, so it is natural that some of your personal posts will involve things that are happening in your business. Keep those posts personal for your friends, but don’t overlook the opportunities to promote your business subtly at the same time.

Don’t hesitate to create posts to your personal profile that are solely ads for your business. This is an effective place to do that, because your friends already trust you. You have to build that trust in new contacts. Keep it in balance, though. Even your friends will lose interest in your Facebook posts if they are about nothing but your business.

Whatever the nature of post, if there is any connection to your business, include business contact info or a link to your website.

Always work to find ways to include a “Call to Action.” Whatever you are doing to promote your business on Facebook, asking the reader to take some action that will strengthen their connection to your business is essential. Some possibilities are links to take them to your website or Facebook Page, or to sign up for your mailing list to receive an informative report or other information. Any response to a Call to Action gives you more information about the prospect and presents an additional opportunity to make them a customer.

Use images intensively. A company logo, a photo of your place of business, or a photo of employees involved in some public service activity – any image like this draws more attention and gets more responses than text alone. Include text with, or even within, the image to further enhance its ability to create interest.

Any professional certification or award is a subject of personal pride, but don’t overlook it as an opportunity to promote your business.

In marketing your business through Facebook, you have an entire suite of tools available. Don’t overlook the opportunities presented by your personal profile.